Acme remembers "diligent and popular" engineer

Catering equipment firm Acme today paid further tribute to Jason Haslem, the engineer who tragically lost his life in a workplace accident last week.

Mr Haslem failed to regain consciousness after suffering an electric shock repairing an oven at a school in Oldham on Thursday 28 August.

Today, the Blackburn-based company remembered a “diligent, reliable and popular member of the team”, who had come through the ranks as an apprentice.

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A spokesperson from Acme Facilities Group Limited said: “Jason was a highly valued colleague here at ACME Facilities, having progressed through the company’s apprentice training scheme.

“He was an extremely diligent and reliable catering equipment engineer. Always pleasant and with a smile on his face, he was a really popular member of the team and will be sorely missed by us all.

“This is a terribly sad and difficult time for our company and for everyone who knew Jason but, of course, most of all for his wife Jessica, his two sons and all his family. Our absolute priority is to remain close to them and to provide them with all the support and assistance we possibly can.”

In a statement posted on Facebook soon after the tragedy, Mr Haslem’s wife from Penwortham, near Preston, said her husband was “truly perfect”. She wrote: “I want to thank everyone, from the bottom of my very empty feeling heart, for all of your kindness and thoughts.

“Jason is a very lucky man to be loved by so many, which is a credit to how truly perfect he was. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to dedicate my life to.

Mr Haslem was carrying out work at Fir Bank Primary School when the tragedy occurred. The school had been undertaking a project to refurbish its kitchen ahead of the new term.

Hazel MacKay, headmistress at the school, told the Manchester press: “Our thoughts are with this man’s family at this time and we offer our deepest condolences.

“The school was closed at the time of the incident, which happened during the school holidays. This matter is now being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and we will co-operate fully with them.”

HSE inspectors have already visited the site as part of their joint investigation with Greater Manchester Police. They will seek to determine the exact circumstances that led to Mr Haslem’s death.

Acme said it would continue to provide “all necessary assistance” to the authorities in that process.